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Buying my First Mac!

L

lovel

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 17, 2009
23
0
I hope you can help me choose the right Mac for me! I was thinking the iMac or the Mac Mini. I have $1200 to spend. I hope that can include ram as well but I can get more for that. I want to use it for...

1. Photoshop/Illustrator (CS4 and CS5 when it's out)
2. Web Design
3. Light Gaming (WoW/StarCraft 2/Diablo 3)
4. Everyday Stuff (Music/Movies/Web/Photos/E-mail)
5. Video/Sound Editing

What would be the best Mac for my needs? Try to keep the budget in mind. I don't mind buying used or :apple: refurbished. I would like to load it up with 4g of ram at least. I'm not sure how hard the upgrade is but I'm pretty tech savvy. I'll just Google a guide for it. Which one is the Mac for me? Thanks for your help! :cool:
 
Thanks guys! I have a few questions. Is the 24" screen 1080p? What is the max ram on it?
 
Definitely the previous refurbished model.

The only disadvantage it has over the new one is DDR3 ram, but the bigger screen, faster processor and an actual dedicated graphics card in the previous model more than makes up for that.


If you want to save $200 I would recommend this one. It only has a slightly slower processor and 20" screen but performance will practically be the same as the $1199 refurb model.
 
Hmm, I might do that. The only real loss is the extra 4" of screen. Not that big of an issue as I will be pretty close to it anyway. Thanks for the tip Angemon.
 
lovel said:
I would like to load it up with 4g of ram at least. I'm not sure how hard the upgrade is but I'm pretty tech savvy.
Click to expand...

I do most of the things you do and I have never had a need for any more than 2GB. Most of the time, I'm fine with 1GB. The idea paraded around that you "need" 4GB is nonsense.
 
Since you are going to be doing web design and photoshop/illustrator, I recommend the better screen so that would mean the 24" previous gen with the ATI graphics card.
 
SnowLeopard2008 said:
Since you are going to be doing web design and photoshop/illustrator, I recommend the better screen so that would mean the 24" previous gen with the ATI graphics card.
Click to expand...

Yeah that would help when dealing with higher res images and such. I am going to tget the 24". Thanks so much guys. Wheres the best place to get that model? Amazon or the Apple site?
 
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